Meenal Tula & Rekha Pande
Re-inscribing the Indian courtesan: A genealogical approach
(2014) Journal of International Women’s Studies, 15 (1), pp. 67-82.
https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol15/iss1/5/
Abstract
Women historiography has been one of the major concerns of the feminist movement particularly since 1960s. Looking at the figure of the courtesan in India-its histories, representations, repression and re-emergence, the paper seeks to problematize discourses of both Universalist and minority history writing that have been built around these women. In the context of Post-Colonial theory, and in the light of the dynamic nature of the categories of Truth, Power, Knowledge, and Discourse, the paper seeks to salvage Foucault’s methodology of writing a genealogical history as opening new avenues within the history of the courtesan in India in particular and women’s history writing in general.
Author Keywords
Courtesans; History writing; Indian women; Women on the margins; Women’s history
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